Clippers docked five first-round draft picks and fined $30m over Kawhi Leonard scandal

The NBA has handed down one of the biggest punishments in the history of the league to the Los Angeles Clippers after finding that the franchise circumvented salary cap rules when it courted Kawhi Leonard as a free agent. The NBA also fined the Clippers $30m, and suspended owner Steve Ballmer from all league and team activities for a year. In addition, it issued suspensions without pay to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank (six months) and president of business operations Gillian Zucker (one year) for their involvement in the scheme.